Gang rivalry: 35-yr-old shot dead

In what seems to be the result of a gang rivalry, 35-year-old Naresh Kumar, of Basant Nagar here, was shot dead by members of a rival group in broad daylight on Thursday.

The assailants allegedly struck at Kanti' s house around 12 in the noon and chased him to a vacant plot about 100 metres from the house where they butchered him with sharp-edged weapons and then fired shots at him. Kanti died on the spot. The accused fled in a white car.

Panic gripped the area as a large number of deceased's supporters reached the site. Heavy police force was deployed in the civil hospital also where the body was taken for a post-mortem examination.

On the complaint of Kanti's father, Balbir Singh, the Model Town police registered a murder case against eight persons. These are-Deepak Kumar, alias Binny Gujjar, his mother Kamlesh Kumari, residents of Improvement Trust Scheme No 2 locality, Rakesh Kumar and Himmat Kumar of Model Town, Sheru of Alawalpur, Sukhi of Adampur, Baicha of Kapurthala and Goldie of Chak Gujran.

Police sources revealed that accused Binny's father Pappu Gujjar was shot dead by Naresh Kumar's gang in February 2011. In 2010, Binny Gujjar was allegedly involved in the murder of Naresh's brother Rajesh Kumar and brother-in-law Arjun. Naresh had come out of jail on bail just a few days ago, informed the police.

Sources said the assailants used 7.65 mm gun in the incident but superintendent of police (detective) Jagmohan Singh said it was yet to be verified. "The post-mortem examination report will confirm how many bullets were fired at the victim and with which weapon", the SP said.